Caught In A Fraud

Jane headed towards Marcus’s cubicle, the remaining files of the Hendersons’ report pressed against her chest. She placed the folder in the center of Marcus’s desk, where he wouldn’t miss it. Then she saw them, partially hidden by his keyboard; venders' vine- one of Vance Inc.'s competitors.

She slid the papers out before she could stop herself. Her eyes scanned through each page that contained an invoice and numbers that didn’t match any project she knew.

 This is fucking messed up. This is all so wrong.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Marcus’s voice rang in her ear moments before she could read the last page.

Jane flinched. Marcus grabbed her hand, dragging her elsewhere before she could protest.

“What were you doing on my desk?” demanded Marcus.

“I was just dropping off the rest of the Hendersons’ report, then again. What were those documents on your desk?” she asked.

“That’s none of your business.” Marcus snatched the rest off her hands.

“But-” Marcus cut her off. His grip on her wrist tightened. “Listen to me. You’re going to walk back to your desk. You’re going to forget you saw anything, and if I hear so much as a whisper from you. I’m going to make sure you lose this job and can’t work anywhere else, you know, I have the connections to do so. Besides, who’s going to believe you? You’ve been here for only three years. So be the good little worker bee that you are and pretend we didn’t have the conversation. Understood?” Jane silently nodded. Marcus let go of her wrist and tucked the papers into his suit as he left.

Fuckkk… this is so messed up. What do I do, why, why, why did I have to read those documents? Jane silently screamed in the quiet space. She rolled down her sleeves to cover up the reddened mark left by Marcus’s grip. 

Has he finally lost his mind?

“Jane?” Jane flinched at the sound of her name. “Why are you standing there instead of working? Anyway, this is perfect timing, I need to have a word with you.” Said Sarah. She gestured for Jane to follow her to her office.

Dear God, what is it now? Did she overhear the conversation between Marcus and me?

Sarah gestured to the chair with her chin as she closed the door. “Sit.”

Jane sat stiffly, her heels bounced off the floor silently. “Mrs Lin, I can explain…”

“Your report was excellent.”

“P-Pardon?” 

 Sarah smiled softly at Jane. “I reviewed your last report, remember? Marcus is just being difficult as always…well, you know why.”

Jane's hand flew to her chest as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Then, may I ask why you called for me?”

“I’m pulling you off the Hendersons’ account”.

“WHAT?! Why?”

 Sarah held up a hand before Jane could continue her protest.

“Calm down, not as punishment. I just need you to be focused on something different.” Sarah said. She took a sip from her coffee.

“There will be a company announcement coming soon. I can’t say more than that, but there will be a few changes that will be happening, Jane, and I want you to be prepared.” Sarah leaned forward, her voice dropped to a whisper. “I want you to keep a low profile this coming week and focus on your job. And for goodness’s sake, stop letting Marcus bait you into arguments. It would be best if you two could get along. You’re one of the best workers we have in the company. Don’t let people like Marcus make you forget that or feel less than.”

“I understand.” Jane nodded.

Jane left Sarah’s office with more questions than answers; the thumping of her heart made it obvious how anxious she was about the whole ordeal than she hoped.

Ugh, of all the things I’ve been assigned to do, getting along with that jerk was not on my bingo card.

She stomped back to her cubicle to find Nancy perched on the edge of her desk, her short hair bouncing the more she shook her head while typing furiously on her phone. The sound of Jane’s heel drawing closer made Nancy lift her head.

“So?” Nancy stared at Jane with her wide blue eyes, hoping to get as much information as she could. “Everyone saw you getting dragged off by Marcus. Did you manage to let off some steam on him? I can already tell things didn’t go well.”

“No.” Jane dropped into her chair with a thud. 

“I did hear something about a company announcement coming soon from the supervisor, though...” Jane bit her lower lip before continuing, “And that I should try to get along with Marcus… let’s leave that matter. Do you know anything about the announcement?”

Nancy placed her hand on Jane's desk, looking lost in thought as a smirk graced her lips “Hmm…getting along with Marcus sounds like a pain, but I…might have heard something about the coming news.”

“Nancy, tell me what you know.” 

“Okay, fine.” Nancy drew closer, her voice close to a whisper. “I overheard part of a conversation in the break room. Something about leadership changes? But nobody knows for sure, and you know how rumours get around here.”

Leadership changes? Great, just what I need right now.

“Now, now. Don’t spiral,” Nancy said as she tapped Jane’s furrowed brows. “Whatever it is, you’ll be fine. You’re one of the few people basically holding this department together.”

Jane’s lips curved into a small smile. “Thanks.”

“Now come join me and the others for a drink.” 

“Thanks, but I’m fine. I still have work to do.” 

Jane’s eyes subtly looked away, hoping to change the topic.

“I expected it, but you need to learn to live a little.”

“Do you even have any plans this weekend?” Nancy asked, shaking her head.

“Of course I do.”

“That doesn’t involve sleeping, chores or reading a book?”

Jane stared at her computer, completely avoiding eye contact this time.

 Nancy let out a tired sigh “Forget about it, do me a favour and not think about Marcus and his insecure ass. Chiao.” 

 Jane turned her focus back to her work the moment Nancy left. She couldn’t go home yet. The quarterly reports still needed to be finished, and she needed something, anything, to get her mind off of Marcus. Jane worked steadily as the office emptied around her, colleagues calling out goodbyes as the energy kept draining from the floor until only the hum of computers and the distant whir of the HVAC system remained.

By eight o’clock, Jane was alone.

She saved her final documents. Her eyes were red and watery from hours of staring at her computer. Her back made cracking sounds like a pencil breaking in two as she stretched. Her shoulders ached. Her head throbbed. But everything was complete and perfect.

Damn, I’m going to die young at this rate.

Just as she reached for her worn-out cross-bag, her phone buzzed.

She picked up the phone to see a text from her mom, a soft smile played on her lips with a knowing thought of how she was going to get nagged.

“Honey, have you eaten yet?” The bright screen from her phone shone on her face, showing a text from her mother. She dropped the phone back in her bag, too tired to think of an excuse to give.

Jane gathered the rest of her belongings, switched off her desk lamp and headed out. 

 She walked through the empty corridors, her black kitten heels clicking against the polished floors as they echoed across the hallway. The elevator glowed ahead.

She pressed the button and waited, mind already shifting to weekend plans. Groceries, laundry. Maybe she’d read that book and wanted to finish it this time.

She pressed the down button; her fingers lingered on the cold metal as she waited for the chime that finally signalled her release.

The elevator chimed open with a ding. Doors sliding open. Thank goodness it’s empty.

Jane stepped inside, feeling relieved. She pressed the button for the ground floor when a hand shot through the doors as they began to close.